Thursday, November 09, 2006

Organizers of the Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade have announced that actress Stefanie Powers will serve as grand marshal for the 44th annual parade, scheduled for Saturday, December 9th.

Powers will be riding aboard the grand marshal boat YachtSea, which, along with the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Halibut, will lead the two-hour parade.

This year's parade theme is Water Winter Wonderland. A fireworks show will kick off the official start at 5:55 p.m. The parade is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"Stefanie Powers has brought entertainment and excitement to the world for many years and we're thrilled she will take the helm as grand marshal to lead our parade," said parade president Cindy Williams. "We are delighted to welcome Stefanie to our boat parade family and hope she enjoys the experience as much as we will."

Powers' acting credits include 28 feature films, three television series, miniseries and on-stage musical productions. She portrayed Jennifer Hart on the television series Hart to Hart.

She has released four home videos and is involved with several American zoos, where she works with species survival programs and is a frequent keynote speaker, according to Williams.

"She has combined a natural curiosity and passion for knowledge, world travel and diverse cultures in both an award-winning acting career and an equally active life of heartfelt philanthropic work," Williams said.

Powers is also president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, a public charity dedicated to the preservation of wild animals, which she helped found in honor of the late actor.

The William Holden Wildlife Education Center serves 10,000 students a year and is located near the Mount Kenya Safari Club and the Mount Kenya Game Ranch started by Holden in the late 1950s.